The San Diego Padres are backed against the wall right now. Their best two pitchers, Michael King and Dylan Cease, entered free agency this winter, and they’ve already lost Cease to the Toronto Blue Jays.
King is projected to sign a huge $75 million deal this winter, per Jim Bowden of The Athletic. At that price, the Padres could emerge as a suitor for the righty, but there are bound to be a few other top suitors.
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter recently predicted King would ditch the Padres and sign with the Detroit Tigers in free agency.
“With Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize penciled into three spots in the Tigers rotation, adding at least one more proven veteran arm would allow Reese Olson, Troy Melton, Keider Montero and others to compete for one spot on the staff rather than two,” Reuter wrote. “According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the Tigers have shown specific interest in King, and he has the potential to be the No. 2 guy on the staff if he can put an injury-plagued 2025 campaign in the rearview.
“After finishing 22nd in the majors with just 814 1/3 innings of work from the starting rotation, it makes sense that the Tigers would be looking for another arm, and King is just a year removed from tossing 173 2/3 innings and finishing seventh in NL Cy Young voting.”
The Tigers could use another reliable veteran to add to their pitching rotation. King would fit the Tigers perfectly, both on their roster and on their payroll.
If King can get and stay healthy, the Tigers could form a solid one-two punch at the top of their rotation without breaking the bank. This is the kind of move that needs to be made to win a World Series.
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